A Slice of Vienna

My traveling philosophy: When you have only a few days to spend in a new town, it is impossible to "see" everything. At most, all one can get is "a slice" of the place. While one can get additional slices during subsequent visits, it is futile to try and "get it all" in just a few days--and it is also, in my opinion, downright unenjoyable. I am not the type to rush myself around from point to point, trying to "get it all in." Blahgh! I want to have a nice experience in a place. I want to see what I see as I am having "my" experience. Beth, as it turns out, has similar views, so we traveled well together and got along famously. And we happily spent our first full day shopping. The street our hotel was on was (not coincidentally) the longest shopping street in Vienna. How pleasant! After that, we ventured into the center to see some of what the town is known for.


OK, I PROMISE not to fill every travel blog with moronic photos of my hotel rooms, but this was really something. Our room was ENORMOUS--especially for hotels in Europe! I have never seen such a room in a regular hotel in Europe (check out the room in Velke Bilovice). I was amazed. And even more surprisingly, the bathroom was gigantic too!


The room--success! Well, when we first arrived, they tried to give us a room with one bed. Not acceptable. So they tried to give us a room, with one box spring and two mattresses. We quietly declined.

"Don't you have anything with beds we can separate??"

So finally we got to our room. Huge, as you may already know. =) Much bigger than the other two. The floors were hardwood. It really reminded me of the "olden golden days" when people went on those glorious and glamorous EUROPEAN TOURS. It was something in the STYLE of the place that gave me the impression. Truly lovely--and not so expensive (but maybe because of the season). Hotels.com can work!


Coming to pick us up


In the carriage--totally touristy, I know, but it fed my imagination. And of course you know what I was imagining...the times when this was the normal mode of transport. Oh boy. We passed the house where Mozart gave his first concert at five years of age. We passed Beethoven's house too.

As you may be becoming aware of, music (not strictly history) was our main interest in Vienna. We bought tickets to see a concert of Mozart and Strauss, with a little Beethoven and Hayden thrown in for seasoning. And while the music WAS outstanding, we were a little disappointed in the venue. It was cute and had lovely decor, but we were really hoping for a place like this....

The Kursalon (where they DO have a daily Strauss concert)


OR THIS...

The Opera house

AND WHAT WE GOT WAS THIS...

Music school

But it was really OK. We weren't exactly dressed for something fancy, and we had no time to go back to our hotel to change. And, as I said, the music was really beautifully performed.

We took a tour of the Mozarthaus. Excellent audio guide. Very fascinating stuff, most of which I am SURE I have already forgotten. =)


Mozart Bust

We stopped in the Mozarthaus cafe for a chocolate which ended up being a beer. They have their own labels for the beer. A Mozarthaus beer!

And the best thing about the cafe...

My favorite sign! I want to put it on a T-Shirt!!!!

So that was my slice of Vienna. I plan to have at least one more this coming summer. (I didn't even see that big yellow building that is ALWAYS shown as the symbol of Vienna. Yes, I know what it is called, but I don't remember how to spell it. And I want to finish NOW so I can get ready to go to Prague and pick up Katherine from the airport. A visitor. Yay!) Hope you enjoyed.

Velke Bilovice--Fulbright Conference

Hotel

It was once again time to convene the Fulbrighters. Time for sharing experiences and plans, and also time for meeting new arrivals. This time, the group consisted of the Fulbrighters form both the Czech Republic and Slovakia. What a great idea! It was soooooo nice to see and meet our compatriots in Slovakia. We got along so well; it was as if we had known each other for years--okay maybe months. =) The point is, it was a great conference. I met some very interesting people, and I wouldn't be surprised if we were to meet up again and again as time goes by and the Fulbright experience continues to shape our lives in some unexpected ways.

Anyway, each participant gave a presentation of about 15 minutes. Teachers reflected and shared his/her experiences in their towns, and the scholars talked about their research projects. New arrivals talked about what they hoped to achieve during their term of lecturing, studying, etc. It was a good time. Very interesting to hear what everyone was up to. I had read about each grantee and his/her work before, but it wasn't quite the same as seeing each Fulbrighter present (with audiovisuals) the work each was personally involved in. It was a very stimulating few days.


room


Meeting place

OK, enough of these pictures. Just wanted to give you sense of the place we inhabited. We were in the very South of the Czech Republic. A place conducive to bring the Czechs and Slovaks together. The town, Velke Bilovice, is typical small town. Lovely and quiet.

The most important thing is of course the people...

Beth and Drew, during one of our "deep" discussions during the break.


Boys...


and Girls--out on the town.

Since Velke Bilovice is in Moravia, we, of course, had to try some of the wines that the region is known for producing; just as when in Bohemia (where I live) one has to try the beers!


Winery--actually started (and owned) by the Knights Templar, during the Holy Crusades!!


Barrels


Buying wine--I took four bottles, but not one made it back to Zatec--and I was glad not to have to carry them! Two made it to Vienna, and that was far enough! AND when I got home, I found that the same wines are actually sold in my little local market!! =)

* * * *

We also visited a castle (manor house, or large mansion in the US). It was really a special treat because these castles are usually closed in the winter time. I think they opened especially for us. I am told that the name for this one--Lednice--means freezer, and I can surely attest to the appropriateness of that name. We trekked through the snow to get to the house, and at first it was fun, but then we really were anxious to get inside so we could warm up. Yeah...Not warmer inside. While the place was undeniably beautiful (even when the gardens were covered with snow, I could tell that they were something special to see in the Spring or Summer), as we toured the house, I became increasingly concerned about things such as how long one would have to be freezing cold before frostbite started to set in. I was SURE it was possible for me to lose a couple of fingers--or at least a couple of toes!! =)


Lednice


Garden


Armor man. OK, you can't ell form the photo, but this is a full-sized man. A small, shortish type man, but full-sized, nonetheless.


Dining room


Staircase


The Gates of Heaven! This is greenhouse that we saw from the outside, before we entered the house. We passed it as we shivered and admired some really stately and gorgeous rooms, and then finally...ADMITTANCE!!!! Oh my god! It was so wonderful. I never wanted to leave.


Fuzzy bench. When I first entered the house, my very cold camera's lens got fogged up. For a minute, I couldn't understand why my pictures were not clear and the light was so funky, then...ahhh! Of course. I did like this picture though--even with the foggy lens! Super effect-- and completely serendipitous.


Pond--after I have cleaned the steam from my lens. =)


Greenhouse benches


Back out there??!! NO WAY!!! Why? Why? Why? Of course we had to go eventually, so I stopped my whining and survived it just fine. Of course =)

KM

I am currently out of the office

So, I am in Vienna right now, so no new posts (really) until I come home. Things to look forward to:

Year 4 Ball: my second Maturity ples of the year
Velke Bilovice: Fulobright conference in an interesting border town, making new friends...
Vienna!! I am having a slice of Vienna these few days. Impossible to see it all, and that is okay with me. It is groovy; I will tell you about what I did.

AND OF COURSE...Photos, photos, photos!!!!

Be back with you soon!

KM

Year 4 Ball

Year 4
This was the second ball, for the other group of kids who are finishing school this year. Attending my second ball here started me to thinking. Well, I started thinking about what I could say about this ball that might be meaningful. Something that I didn't say when I wrote about the first, something beyond mere description.


Table decoration

Well, it was also (like the first) a beautiful affair. Anyone could tell that a lot of thought and effort went into the planning of the night. For starters, the kids dressed in Medieval and Renaissance costumes and performed a typical dance. It was cool. The club was a lot more crowded than the other ball, due to the fact that the class is much larger and the families, etc. had to be accommodated in the same amount of space as was used by a much smaller class. So it was much more difficult to maneuver quickly through the place. Consequently, I didn't get as many photos of the events of the evening. But I really enjoyed the students, and took several pictures of the following kind.


Eva, Iva, Radka, and Katka.


Daniel


Standa


Liba


Tomas--trying to smile =)


Kuba


Vit


Crazy Boys--Pavel and Ondra

Well, as I said above, I thought this might be a good opportunity to say something about my experiences here beyond descriptions of what I did and where and with whom. I wanted to perhaps start to convey some of my personal observations. This led me to thinking about some of the small differences in the two cultures (the one I am living in and learning about and the one I was born into--and am also still learning about). =)

Student events here are family events. It's nice. Everyone (underclassmen, alumni, parents) can share in the significant moments. An occasion in the students' lives is an occasion for everyone. It is very different from the Prom in the USA. Parents there are also very involved, but their involvement is beforehand. There is much excitement and ado about getting the kids ready for Prom and also much celebrating before the parents send the kids off.

In the USA, the best parents are considered to be those who give their kids strength and courage to go and pursue their individual goals (not entirely on their own, but largely determined by individual will). Here, it seems that the best parents seem to be those who keep a place ready for their children to be with them forever, feeling strength and security mainly from being with the family.

Students in the USA would DIE if they had to spend the Prom with their parents. But Why?? I don't pretend to have all the answers, but I think there is an unrealistic expectation fo innocence that kids in the USA have to deal with. Between the law ("for their own good") and parents, kids have to pretend that they don't do things that are not sanctioned by adults, things such as drinking, smoking, and carrying on with members of the opposite sex. So the last thing they want to do on Prom night when they want to have FUN is have their parents watching over them. They get enough of that from their teachers, who also don't allow drinking, smoking, or "inappropriate" behavior in public, even though they know the kids DO these things. The kids must do these things in private.

Here in CZ, everyone also knows that the kids do these things, but nobody tries to pretend that they are not going on. If the kids drink or smoke, they can do so openly; the parents seem more accepting of whatever it is the kids do. So there is no reason for the kids to want to be away from their parents for their special occasions. After all, the most important thing is that everyone stays together.

I could probably say more, but I think this just about covers the main things that occurred to me during these events. Ta ta for now.

KM